Starkville, Miss. – With Opening Day two days away, here are several news items regarding the Mississippi State baseball team.

OPENING WEEKEND NOTES

· To celebrate “Date Night at The Dude” for Valentine’s Day Friday, the concessions at Dudy Noble will offer two drinks, two hot dogs and cotton candy for just $15.· Former MSU All-American Jeff Brantley will throw out the first pitch at Saturday’s game.· The first 1,000 fans at Saturday’s game will receive a Maroon and White baseball pennant celebrating MSU’s nine College World Series appearances.· The forecast for this weekend calls for partly cloudy skies Friday with a high of 59 and zero percent chance of rain, a high of 54 Saturday with 10 percent and a high of 62 Sunday with 10 percent.

In addition, Perfect Game released its lists of Top-100 Seniors and Top-100 Juniors in college baseball. Outfielder Demarcus Henderson and All-SEC second baseman Brett Pirtle made the senior list for MSU, while pitchers Brandon Woodruff and Jacob Lindgren were selected to the junior list.

MORE PRESEASON RANKINGS

Mississippi State was voted by the SEC’s 14 baseball coaches to finish second in the SEC West in the 23rd annual preseason SEC poll. Seven coaches picked MSU to win its division, while four skippers selected the Bulldogs to win the conference.

Former Mississippi State All-American Paul Maholm recently signed a one-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the organization announced late last week. The southpaw is now part of the 40-man roster.

Cowbell Yell at Dudy Noble will serve as the annual meeting for “The Dudes,” MSU baseball’s student fan group. While the event is aimed to increase student involvement within the program, all fans are invited to the ballpark to help signal in the 2014 campaign. Students can join the 2014 Dudes program by scanning their student ID’s at the entrance and can acquire this year’s Dudes shirt at the event.

MEDIA DAY RECAP

Mississippi State held its annual media day this past Monday. For more than 40 minutes of video as well as a photo gallery and a transcript, click here.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Opening Day at home against Hofstra is at 4 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 14. For more information on the event, follow the team on social media by searching for “HailStateBB” on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. All-Access coverage of the program can also be found on FanCred.